Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Like the GI Bill that gave access to a college degree for the first time to a generation of Americans, the creation of the California State University system 50 years ago did the same for Californians. In the decades that followed there was an explosion of innovation in all fields and an era of unprecedented economic growth. These mid-20th century public investments tapped into the talent of millions of people who would otherwise be denied access to a quality education. The highly skilled labor force these investments created helped make California the nation's most vibrant state economy.

In a document titled, " 'Restructuring' the CSU or Wrecking It?: What Proposed Changes Mean and What We Can Do about Them," the California Faculty Association, the largest faculty union in the state (to which I belong), has identified the perilous path our so-called leaders, both in Sacramento and among CSU administrators, are leading us down.

"On every one of our campuses, we are seeing signs that a profound change in the mission of our California State University is being implemented from the top under cover of the economic crisis," said CFA President Lillian Taiz, a professor of history at CSU,Los Angeles.

The state that brought the world microprocessors, cell phones, computers and the Internet is in the process of gutting its system of public higher education in the name of "restructuring." In effect, they're killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Republicans in the Legislature who control California's finances have apparently concluded it is not even worth trying to compete with India and China anymore. California's leaders, by abandoning the CSU, are throwing in the towel. They've given up.

One would think even Republicans such as Senate Minority Leader Dennis Hollingsworth and Sen. Dave Cogdill would care about maintaining America's competitive edge against its commercial rivals. Yet they are pursuing an irresponsible and cynical restructuring of the CSU that is terrible for California's future and bad for the United States' position in the world economy.

CSU Chancellor Charles Reed and the board of trustees show zero leadership amidst the severest fiscal crisis the CSU has faced. They, with visionless state politicians, are presiding over the systematic dismantling of public higher education in California.

In the midst of the current economic crisis brought about by the failure of unregulated financial markets and twisted profit maximization schemes, California's leaders have concluded that investing in higher education is no longer affordable. "There's no money!" Chancellor Reed proclaims.

Yet the CFA's position paper connects the "trillions of tax-payer dollars" that have been "spent in just the past year on bailing out banks," with the bogus claim that there is no money available for higher education. It also notes that the draconian cuts to higher education in California contradict President Barack Obama's stated commitment to a more enlightened educational policy.

Not only are we able to find the money to bail out banks and fight foreign wars but there are potential revenues right here in California that could be tapped to save public higher education.

The public must be made to appreciate what's at stake here: A precious public resource that took decades to build is in the process of being "restructured" out of existence. Once it's gone it will be very difficult – if not impossible – to build up again. And it will undermine the quality of life in California for decades. The governor, the Legislature and the CSU administrators have formed a wrecking crew. They seem willing to allow California's work force to become low wage and less educated, even though a low-wage society can never be an affluent society.

The recent protests by University of California students and faculty show that those who support public higher education in California won't go down without a fight. The CSU will survive only if students and their families heed the alarm bells CFA is ringing and stand up together and say: "Enough!"